


00:00:00:00

by manoutoftimeandquake



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25476475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manoutoftimeandquake/pseuds/manoutoftimeandquake
Summary: Daisy's timer had been at 00:00:00:00 her whole life, until the Zephyr lands in 1931 and for the first time in her life, the numbers change.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 10
Kudos: 277





	00:00:00:00

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before I watched the newest episode and I got to the end and was like "I can work with that"

Daisy was five when she first asked the nuns what the numbers on her arm meant. When they told her that most people had a countdown to when they met their soulmate, she asked why hers was stuck at 00:00:00:00.

“That means that you’ve already met your soulmate,” the nun explained.

“But when? I don’t remember meeting them,” Daisy replied.

“We don’t know, you must’ve met them before you came to us,” the nun said.

“Then how am I meant to find them?” Daisy asked.

“Enough of this, it’s time for dinner, go eat with the other children,” the nun replied with a sigh.

Daisy sighed as she followed the rest of the children to the dinner hall, silently deciding that she was never going to talk about her soulmate with the nuns again; if they weren’t going to tell her anything that was going to help her, then there was no point in going to them about it. As she sat down, she saw a few other girls gathered around one girl, staring at the timer on her arm. From what Daisy could hear, the girl was going to meet her soulmate tomorrow. She scowled at the group and pulled her sleeve down, covering her timer and tried to put the thought of soulmates out of her mind.

***

Lincoln didn’t have a timer. It was uncommon for people to not have a soulmate, but not unheard of. Daisy could tell there was something between the two of them, but it wasn’t until Daisy told him that she didn’t know who her soulmate was that they acted on it.

But just because he wasn’t her soulmate didn’t mean it hurt any less when he died.

***

As the Zephyr landed in 1931, Daisy felt a weird sensation on her left arm, almost like someone was tattooing lines into her skin. She didn’t get the chance to look until they were changing into their period-appropriate attire.

Her numbers had changed. For her whole life, her timer had been stuck at 00:00:00:00, but for the first time in her life, she had a countdown.

88821:03:54:23, and the seconds were ticking down.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to not think about it as she finished getting changed but managed to grab Simmons before they left the Zephyr.

“Hey, Simmons, I need to ask you something,” she said as she walked up to her friend.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Simmons asked.

Daisy rolled up her sleeve to reveal the numbers ticking down on her arm.

8821:03:37:27

Simmons gasped. “When did this happen?”

“I felt it change as we travelled backwards, but I didn’t notice until I got changed,” Daisy explained.

“That means that you should be meeting your soulmate in about twenty-four years, sometime in late July,” Simmons muttered as she looked at the timer.

“How did you work that out so quickly?” Daisy exclaimed. “And what does this mean?”

“I’m guessing it means that you’re going meet your soulmate sometime in the past,” Simmons replied.

“What, so I’m going to run into my soulmate in the fifties and then have to leave them there?”

Simmons shrugged slightly. “I mean, we can always kidnap them.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “We can’t kidnap them. I shouldn’t’ve asked you.” She looked over where everyone else was getting ready to leave the Zephyr. “We should probably go.” And she walked off before she gave Simmons the chance to respond.

***

When the Zephyr landed in July 1955, Simmons was quick to drag Daisy to one side. She shot a glance down to Daisy’s arm and Daisy immediately rolled back her sleeve; the two women able to have a conversation without even talking.

00:16:17:23

“It’s changed again,” Simmons observed.

“Yeah, no shit,” Daisy replied. “That means my soulmate is in 1955.”

“Still a no on the kidnapping?” Simmons asked.

“Come on, we have to go figure out what the Chronicoms want with Area 51,” Daisy said without answering Simmons’s question.

***

Daisy tried not to think about the timer on her arm as she went into the field, rescuing Coulson and Simmons was more important. She kept her cool and maintained her cover, pretending to read the files on Sousa’s desk as he entered the room.

“Who the hell are you?” Sousa asked.

“Who I am is on a need to know basis,” she replied without looking up from the desk.

“I need to know,” Sousa snapped.

As Daisy finally looked up to face him, she caught a glimpse of the timer on her arm.

00:00:00:00

Oh.

***

Talking to Sousa on the Zephyr about Hydra’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. hurt Daisy. As she heard him talk about he was willing to die to take down Hydra, she realised that she couldn’t tell him about them being soulmates. She knew that he had to die today in order to preserve the timeline and they couldn’t risk anything that would change his actions. She met her soulmate, only to immediately watch him die.

Sometimes she really thought the universe was working against her.

***

Daisy managed to catch Simmons as the group got ready to go save Sousa. “Hey, can I borrow you for a moment?”

Simmons led Daisy into the lab away from the rest of the team. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember what you said about kidnapping my soulmate?” Daisy asked. Simmons nodded. “I don’t think it matters what I think about it, the rest of the team have decided to go with the kidnapping plan anyway.”

Simmons gasped. “Daniel Sousa is…”

“My soulmate,” Daisy finished. She let out a small laugh. “Coulson is going to freak out when he finds out.”

Simmons laughed also. “He is going to be so excited. Come on, we have to go save your soulmate from getting killed by Hydra.”

***

There wasn’t a handy guide on when to tell the man you and your teammates kidnapped from 1955, faking his death in the process, that he’s your soulmate. Once they landed in 1973, they were immediately thrown into a new mission.

Her heart skipped a beat when he looped an arm around her waist and introduced himself as her fiancé to Gideon Malick.

She still hadn’t told him by the time Nathaniel Malick kidnapped them and the barn where they were being held captive didn’t seem like the right time or place. She was only vaguely aware of what was happening when he carried her out and back to the Zephyr, her body too broken for her to respond. She finally passed out as she was placed in the healing pod, Sousa sat patiently by her bedside.

***

Daisy was sat in the healing pod when the time loop reset yet again. The combined noise of the pod opening and her standing up woke Sousa up.

“Hey, what are you doing up?” he asked.

“I need you to do something for me,” Daisy replied.

Sousa seemed shocked but was quick to stand up. “Of course, what do you need?”

Daisy momentarily faltered; even after their conversation in the last loop, she hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly. She closed the gap between them and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Almost as soon as she pulled away, the pair both leant back in for a longer, deeper kiss.

“That was nice,” she said a little breathlessly as she pulled away again. “Now we need to trap a space robot.” She nodded and went to leave the room, before stopping in the doorway. “Oh, and by the way, I pretty sure we’re soulmates.”

“What?”

“Yeah, but I think that’s something to deal with once we’ve gotten out of the time loop.”

***

Daisy and Sousa finally got the chance to talk after they broke out of the time loop. She found him sat by in the loading bay at the back of the Zephyr, away from the rest of the team.

“Hey,” she said as she walked over and sat down next to him. “You okay?”

“I’m good,” he replied. “I’m sorry about what happened to Enoch. I know I hadn’t known him for long, but I know what it’s like to lose members of your team.” He looked over at her. “Daisy, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Did something happen between us during the time loop?”

Daisy looked over to his right arm where his timer was.

00:00:00:00

“When did your timer hit zero?” Daisy asked.

Sousa frowned at her changing the subject but answered her anyway. “Sometime at Area 51 the day you all showed up. I wasn’t paying proper attention and don’t know who it was. Could’ve been anyone there that day. Not that it matters, I left them behind when we left 1955.” He looked over at her arm where her timer was.

00:00:00:00

“What about you?” he asked.

“It’s been at zero for as long as I can remember. I thought it meant that I’d met my soulmate before I ended up at the orphanage, but it changed when we travelled backwards in time,” Daisy replied. Sousa seemed confused about where she was going. “It hit zero when you came into your office.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I’m saying that I think we’re soulmates,” Daisy answered.

Daisy waited nervously as Sousa processed what she said. After a few moments, he looked back over at her before leaning in and kissing her, cupping her cheek gently in his left hand. Daisy let out a slight gasp before returning the kiss, bringing her hands up to grip at his shirt. They separated after a few moments, their foreheads still resting against each other.

“We’ve don’t this before, haven’t we?” Sousa asked.

“Just the once during the time loop,” Daisy replied. “I then told you that I was pretty sure that we were soulmates before dragging you off on a mission.”

“I need everyone on the bridge in the next five minutes,” Mack’s voice came over the Zephyr’s intercom.

Sousa was the first to stand. He offered his hand to Daisy and as he pulled her to his feet he pulled her in close and kissed her again. Both were grinning as they pulled away and they walked towards the bridge hand in hand, the matching zeroed out timers knocking against each other as they went.

**Author's Note:**

> Me, watching the kiss scene repeatedly: It's called research


End file.
